The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have teamed up with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to improve the financial management of donor funds by implementing countries.
GAVI, the Global Fund and IFAC, according to a Memorandum of Understanding, seek to strengthen the expertise of accountancy and finance professionals and help close the gaps in accountancy skills in implementing countries.
The MoU builds on a 2011 agreement and aims to optimise the joint efforts of global health partners to maximise the performance of investments and support the sustainability of health programmes in Africa and other parts of the world.
This work will start with a number of pilot countries, including African countries, in collaboration with local professional accountancy organisations (PAOs).
GAVI and the The Global Fund will be responsible for funding, selecting beneficiary organisations, and monitoring the implementation of targeted capacity-building activities.
‘GAVI has cooperated with IFAC and national accounting organisations for a number of years to ensure sound financial management of the funding we provide to countries’, Deputy CEO of GAVI, Anuradha Gupta, said in a statement from the Global Fund.
‘This agreement allows us to go much further with a focus on the health sector, in leveraging the expertise of the accountancy profession to boost transparency, build local skills and capacity to improve overall accounting practices, and build a stronger ethical framework.
‘That will ultimately bring economic and societal benefits to everyone’.
Also, the Chief Financial Officer at The Global Fund, Adda Faye, said, ‘Equipping our implementing partners with the right financial management skills is essential to maximise the impact of our investments and contribute to greater results in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
‘We are excited to join efforts with GAVI and IFAC to strengthen financial management, reporting, accountability, and transparency to better serve the societies and people in countries receiving Global Fund investments’.
Ultimately, this partnership, according to the statement, aims to lead to better integration of GAVI and the Global Fund investments into country systems, better internal controls to reduce fiduciary and financial risks, and enhanced absorption of grants.
‘Robust and transparent accounting and reporting systems are the bedrock of strong public financial management and are thereby critical to the effectiveness and impact of GAVI and The Global Fund’s disbursement of lifesaving funds and resources’, the IFAC President, Alan Johnson, said.
Source: The Global Fund
Photo source: Global Communities
